TALMA, LOUISE - MUSIC OF (CD)

Piano Sonata No.1; Six Etudes; Three Dialogues for clarinet & piano; Piano Sonata No.2; Alleluia in Form of a Toccata; Deven Episodes for flute, viola & piano, Theresa Bogard, piano, with Oakes, clarinet; Garnette, flute; Pryzgocki, viola. In the middle part of the century, when women composers were still a geniume rarity, Louise Talma was a steadfast presence in a male dominated field. Today, her name is often remembered but her music is seldom heard. This CD of Talma's major works and two chamber pieces- 3 Duologues for Clarinet & Piano and 7 Episodes for Flute, Viola & Piano- is the first to be devoted exclusively to her music. The principal artist is Theresa Bogard, a young pianoist from Wyoming who displays an assumed and dedicated mastery. The program features statements from all three of Talma's stylistic periods: the tonal neo-classicism of the 1940s, the strict serialism of the '60s, and the relaxed free forms of her later years. (label info)